Communication devices such as wireless devices are also known as e.g. User Equipments (UEs), mobile terminals, wireless terminals and mobile stations (MSs). Wireless devices are enabled to communicate wirelessly in a cellular communication network, wireless communication network or wireless communications system, sometimes also referred to as a cellular radio system or a cellular network. The communication may be performed, e.g., between two wireless devices, between a wireless device and a regular telephone and/or between a wireless device and a server via a Radio Access Network (RAN), and possibly one or more core networks, comprised within the cellular communication network.
Wireless devices may further be referred to as mobile telephones, cellular telephones, laptops, or tablet computer with wireless capability, just to mention some further examples. The wireless devices in the present context may be, for example, portable, pocket-storable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices, enabled to communicate voice and/or data, via the RAN, with another entity, such as another terminal or a server.
The cellular communication network covers a geographical area which is divided into cell areas, wherein each cell area being served by an access node such as a base station (BS), e.g., a Radio Base Station (RBS), which sometimes may be referred to as e.g. “evolved Node B”, “eNB”, “eNodeB”, “NodeB”, “B node”, “node B” or BTS (Base Transceiver Station), depending on the technology and terminology used. The base stations may be of different classes such as, e.g., macro eNodeB, home eNodeB or pico base station, based on transmission power and thereby also cell size. A cell is the geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the base station at a base station site. One base station, situated on the base station site, may serve one or several cells. Further, each base station may support one or several communication technologies. The base stations communicate over the air interface operating on radio frequencies with the terminals within range of the base stations.
In some RANs, several base stations may be connected, e.g. by landlines or microwave, to a radio network controller, e.g. a Radio Network Controller (RNC) in Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), and/or to each other. The radio network controller, also sometimes termed a Base Station Controller (BSC) e.g. in GSM, may supervise and coordinate various activities of the plural base stations connected thereto. GSM is an abbreviation for Global System for Mobile Communications (originally: Groupe Special Mobile). EDGE, often referred to as GSM EDGE or GSM/EDGE, is an evolution GSM. The name EDGE stands for Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution and it enables data to be sent over GSM at higher speeds. GSM EDGE systems may also be known as EGPRS, or Enhanced General Packet Radio Service systems.
In 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE), base stations, which may be referred to as eNodeBs, eNBs or even NBs, may be directly connected to other base stations and may be directly connected to one or more core networks.
The 3GPP LTE radio access standard has been written in order to support high bitrates and low latency both for uplink and downlink traffic. All data transmission is in LTE are controlled by the base stations.
UMTS is a third generation mobile communication system, which may be referred to as 3G, and which evolved from the GSM, and is intended to provide improved mobile communication services based on Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) access technology. UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) is essentially a radio access network using wideband code division multiple access for wireless devices. High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) is an amalgamation of two mobile telephony protocols, High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), defined by 3GPP, that extends and improves the performance of existing 3rd generation mobile telecommunication networks utilizing the WCDMA. Moreover, the 3GPP has undertaken to evolve further the UTRAN and GSM based radio access network technologies, for example into evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN) used in LTE.
In the context of this disclosure, the expression Downlink (DL) may be used for the transmission path, or send direction, from a base station to a wireless device. The expression Uplink (UL) may be used for the transmission path, or send direction, in the opposite direction, i.e. from a wireless device to a base station.
Machine Type of Communication (MTC) has in recent years, especially in the context of the Internet of Things (IoT), shown to be a growing market segment for cellular technologies, especially for GSM/EDGE with its more or less global coverage, ubiquitous connectivity and price competitive devices. Realization of IoT benefit from utilizing cellular technologies and GSM technology is of great, perhaps of greatest, interest to utilize. In general it is desirable to be able to (re)use existing wireless communication systems and cellular technologies for new type of devices such as MTC devices. An MTC device is typically a wireless device that is a self and/or automatically controlled unattended machine and that is typically not associated with an active human user in order to generate data traffic. A MTC device is typically much more simple, and associated with a more specific application or purpose, than and in contrast to a conventional mobile phone or smart phone. MTC involve communication to and/or from MTC devices, which communication typically is of quite different nature and with other requirements than communication associated with e.g. conventional mobile phones and smart phones. In the context of and growth of the IoT it is evidently so that MTC traffic will be increasing and thus needs to be increasingly supported in wireless communication systems.
Problem related to (re)using existing technologies and systems is e.g. that the requirements for the new type of devices typically is different than conventional requirements, e.g. regarding the type and amount of traffic, performance etc. Existing systems have not been developed with these new requirements in mind. Also, traffic generated by new type of devices will typically be in addition to conventional traffic already supported by an existing system, which existing traffic typically needs to continue to be supported by and in the system, preferably without any substantial disturbance and/or deterioration of already supported services and performance.
Any modifications need of existing systems and technology should of course be cost efficient, such as enabled by low complexity modifications, and preferably allowing legacy devices already being employed to continue to be used and co-exist with the new type of devices in one and the same wireless communication system.